Home Office

Government Response to the House of Lords Liaison Committee Report on the Post-Legislative Scrutiny of the Licensing Act 2003 – Follow Up Report

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: My rt hon Friend the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:This Government recognises that the majority of people drink at lower-risk levels and enjoy alcohol as part of socialising both at home and out and about. However, we also recognise that alcohol related harms remain of concern and need to be addressed. The Government believes that the Licensing Act 2003 sets out a clear and effective legislative framework to regulate licensable activities nationally balanced with considerable local autonomy allowing areas to develop their own localities and economies based on their unique character and needs. We keep the Act under review and continue to work closely with licensing practitioners to ensure the regime remains fit for purpose and meets emerging challenges such as new digital technologies. There is a considerable body of good practice around implementation of the licensing regime for areas to draw on where needed. We are taking forward an ambitious programme work to tackle alcohol-related harms including the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years, the introduction of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement and Alcohol monitoring on Licence, and a strong programme of work to address alcohol-related health harms and their impact on life chances. We welcome this follow up report from the Committee and have given careful consideration to all of the additional recommendations. The Government Response to the Committee’s follow up Report (CP 753) has been laid before the House today and will be published on GOV.UK.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Government Update

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levellup Up, Housing and Communites (The Rt Hon. Michael Gove MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:On 19 August 2022 my Rt Hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Greg Clark) announced he was minded to expand the intervention into Liverpool City Council by appointing a Commissioner to oversee the Council’s financial management and to transfer functions associated with governance and financial decision-making to the Commissioners together with powers regarding recruitment to improve the running of the organisation. Today I am confirming that I will be implementing these proposals.The intervention at Liverpool City Council started on 10 June 2021 following a best value inspection trigged by the arrest of the former Mayor. The then Secretary of State appointed four Commissioners with powers over regeneration, highways and property and their associated governance.The Commissioners submitted their second report on 10 June 2022, the anniversary of the intervention, leading to the minded to announcement in August. I am pleased that progress has been made and commend the hard work of the councillors and officers to achieve this. Commissioners also report that the arrival of Theresa Grant OBE as interim chief executive in September has bought renewed drive to the transformation work across the Council.The intervention is at a critical juncture as it approaches the halfway point and it is clear significant challenges remain. The Commissioners’ second report identified systematic, whole-council weaknesses in areas that stretch beyond the existing intervention. It concluded the Council is not meeting its statutory duty to provide Best Value and the Council must take urgent, whole-council action to progress on their improvement journey.My predecessor invited representations on the proposals on or before 2 September 2022. Having considered the representations received from the Authority, Councillor Richard Kemp and the evidence in the Commissioners report, I have decided to implement the proposals. I have made one small modification to remove an errant timeframe attached to a direction.I am appointing Stephen Hughes as Finance Commissioner, until June 2024 or such earlier or later time as I determine. Stephen is a seasoned finance officer who has recently worked as a finance and management consultant and previously worked as interim chief executive at Bristol.More must be done to embed the desired cultural change across the organisation, to bridge the budget gap and set a balanced budget for 2023/24. My decision, to expand the intervention, reflects the stark situation in the Council. The powers provided to Commissioners are wide –ranging, but I feel are necessary to deliver the effective, efficient and convenient local government for communities across Liverpool.The Commissioners have agreed to provide their next report to me in February 2023 and I will update the House on further progress with the intervention at that time. I have published the Directions and Explanatory Memorandum associated with this announcement on gov.uk and placed copies, together with the Commissioner’s second report, in the libraries of both Houses.My predecessor also announced the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel to craft a vision for Liverpool’s future beyond government intervention, with a plan for driving growth in skills, jobs and opportunities. Liverpool has fantastic potential, and I am considering carefully how we can work together with partners to best support levelling up in the area. I will update separately on these plans in due course.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary State for Europe (Leo Docherty), has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The Rt Hon. Member for Aldridge Brownhills (Wendy Morton MP) has replaced the Hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson MP) as a Member of the United Kingdom delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.The Hon. Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney MP) has replaced the Hon. Member for Wealden (Nusrat Ghani MP) as a Member of the United Kingdom delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.The Hon. Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland MP) has replaced the Hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart MP) as a Member of the United Kingdom delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.The Rt. Hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz MP) has replaced the Hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Abena Oppong-Asare MP) as a Member of the United Kingdom delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.